NDP candidate, father charged for bullets

26.JUNE.09

by Omesha Spence

A proposed candidate in the upcoming general elections has been charged with possession of ammunition without a license.{{more}}

New Democratic Party (NDP)candidate Cameron “Dinky” Balcombe appeared at the Serious Offences Court last week and was jointly charged with the offence, along with his father Businessman Alison Balcombe.

Father and son, both of Georgetown, appeared at court on Thursday, June 18th, and Friday, June 19th, 2009. When they appeared on Thursday, they were both charged with having in their possession, 13 rounds of .22 ammunition and 2 rounds of 12-gauge ammunition without a license.

Cameron, who has been named to contest the North Central Windward constituency for the NDP, pleaded not guilty to both charges while his father Alison only pleaded guilty to possession of the 2 rounds of 12-gauge ammunition. He pleaded not guilty to the other charge. Alison was ordered to reappear on Friday, 19th June, 2009, when he was fined for the offence.

The court heard that police officers went to the home of Alison Balcome after receiving information about the use of a firearm. Balcombe’s home was searched and the 2 rounds of 12-guage ammunition were found in a dressing table drawer. When cautioned by the police, Balcombe told the police that he had had the ammunition for a long time, since he had his shot gun license.

Prosecutor Inspector Nigel Butcher told the court that the Balcombe had a shotgun license but the license had been revoked. However, Attorney Dr. Linton Lewis, representing Balcombe, told the court that the gun had been stolen from Balcombe and that Balcombe had found the culprit and turned both the culprit and the gun over to the police. However the gun could not be found, even after he made further inquiries to the police. Chief Magistrate Sonya Young then ordered Inspector Nigel Butcher to make checks to verify whether the firearm licence had been revoked or if it had expired. Minutes later, Inspector Butcher confirmed that the firearm license had indeed expired, not revoked.

In mitigation, Dr. Lewis urged the Magistrate to be lenient and to impose a small fine on Balcombe as he was “a worthy member of his community”. Lewis added that Alison is not an individual who has demonstrated criminal intent and that the ammunition was not obtained illegally, but belonged to a gun he previously owned.

Alison was fined $600 to be paid forthwith or 3 months imprisonment. The charge against Cameron Balcombe for the 2 rounds of 12-gauge ammunition was dismissed.

Both Alison and Cameron were granted bail in the sum of $10,000 for the charge of possession of 13 rounds of .22 ammunition without a license, to which they both pleaded not guilty. They were also ordered to report to the Georgetown Police Station every Wednesday between 6 am and 6 pm. Their next court appearance will be on Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (OS)